Closing Off A Loft With Curtains And Shutters

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The third floor of my parent's lake house is where the majority of our guest stay when they visit our lake house. There are four regular beds and then spots for two or three air mattresses if needed. There is (was) not much privacy on this floor, which has been fine for all of these years! But now, the crew is a little older. There is often a mix of friends/family staying with us in the loft space on any given weekend. It was time to figure out how to create a semi-private loft space. 

We did not want to close this space off with walls. Walls are too permanent and would take away from the openness of the third floor. The goal was to create a semi-private space, possibly creating three walls and then a curtain wall for each bedroom nook. The space had two partitions that were used for several years to partially block off the sleeping space and provide a bit of privacy. 

Former, not-so-private loft space

Using partitions for privacy

BEFORE: Very open lofted space

After looking around for ideas on the internet and Pinterest, we saw a few things that we liked. First of all, we LOVED shutters. Shutters would still give us that open feel when the loft space was not in use. It made the walls less solid-looking. Less obstructive. My husband was the mastermind behind the whole plan. It was decided that these shutters found on Amazon.com would be used for the project. They come in MANY different sizes, and we only needed two because we split one section into two individual shutters for the walls near the window facing the lake. 

 The hubs decided to build out two of the walls towards the front of the house, and then two of the wall near the back of the room. Three bungalows were going to be created. The new "rooms" would have three walls and then a curtain wall. By using curtains, we would still be able to have a semi-open area, especially when not in use. 

My husband started to frame right away. 

Framing of the new walls

Framing from another angle

The next step was to dry wall. As you can see, my husband left opening for the shutters that would be installed in each of the walls. 

Dry wall time! 

The dry-walling step is a longgggg process. This took roughly two full weekends. Once complete, it was time to frame out the shutters and paint the walls!

Framing the shutter windows

Framing from another angle

Painting before the trim is put up

As the walls were being worked on, there was a constant discussion on how to execute the curtain wall. For two of the bungalows, we needed a curtain to span 13 feet. That is a lot of footage. And we wanted the curtain to not part in the center. The nook at the front of the house would part in the center, but we wanted one continuous curtain going from right to left on the side bungalows. 

The only way to do it was with a traverse curtain rod. My husband mounted a wooded board in front of the rod to hide it. My mom then searched for the perfect curtain panels. We wanted something with medium weight. Once she found the perfect curtain, the sewing began! 

She needed to remove the grommets and sew three panels together for the 13-foot walls. It was quite the project, to say the least. But once they were complete, it was a picture of perfection. The curtains were exactly what the bungalows needed. 

In addition to the new privatized accommodations, we also purchased new light-weight microfiber bedding. This type of bedding is perfect for a lake house. The previous bedding was too heavy. Each bungalow has a new lamp and a freshly painted night stand as well. We are ready for the upcoming holiday weekend!

This entire project was extremely custom, but if you are looking to create a semi-private space in your house, you should definitely consider the use of shutters and curtains. Just look at the final results! 

The finished loft. You can see how the traverse rods were mounted behind the wood that was installed. 

Finished semi-private loft space

Each bungalow can now be closed off for privacy

New lamps and fresh paint for the finished space

13-foot curtain going from left to right

AFTER! Semi-private loft space

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